Depardieu claims 'I'm not a criminal' after missing French court date

On a visit to Montenegro, French actor Gerard Depardieu defends his absence
from a court hearing on drunken driving charges in Paris, saying if he eats
a "salad with too much vinegar" it puts him over the blood alcohol
limit.

But it turned out that the 64-year-old French actor was in Montenegro meeting prime minister Milo Djukanovic, and looking at property to buy.

The lawyer insisted that Depardieu, who has threatened to renounce his French citizenship and turn in his passport and social security card, was not trying to dodge justice.

"I'm not a criminal. I skidded on my scooter, I fell asleep. Even if I eat a salad with too much vinegar, I already have too much alcohol in my blood," Depardieu said at a joint news conference with the Montenegrin leader, promising that he would return to France.

Depardieu's battles against the French government and French justice began nearly at the same time. In November, he fell off his scooter in Paris and was charged with drunken driving.

The following week, the mayor of a Belgian border town announced that the man whose roles in 150 films have all but defined French drama had set up house there to avoid rising French taxes.

Depardieu was in Montenegro on the latest leg of an extended trip which included a meeting in Russia with Vladimir Putin to get Russian citizenship, and a stop in Switzerland to watch football.

"Please don't think that I want to collect passports. I am a citizen of Europe, I live in Europe. My dream is to be a citizen of the world," he said, as he stood with Montenegro Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and showed his Russian passport.

The drunken driving hearing will now be deferred to a criminal court and Depardieu could lose his driving license and could face up to two years in jail.

It is not the actor's first tangle with alcohol.

In 1998, Depardieu crashed his motorcycle when his blood-alcohol level was five times over the legal limit, escaping with leg and face injuries.